Eddie Van Halen was a legendary guitarist from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Eddie was one of the few true "Guitar Heroes" in an era when guitar talent was not on most people's radar, thanks to punk and, subsequently, 80's synth-pop. The advent of the MXR EVH 5150 has again shown us that his popularity hasn’t waned, with many players still attempting to recreate Eddie's "Brown Sound" from the 1980s.
Establishing himself as one of the most amazing Hard Rock guitarists of all time, unlike many others, Eddie never used distortion pedals, preferring to keep his overdrive sound pure and smooth, with unique usage of modulation effects as his principal "secret weapon." Perhaps this is why his "Brown Sound" is so well-known: it's powerful and heavy but not harsh. It's completely rocking, but it's also incredibly musical.
If you love this sound and want to make it your way of playing, the best way to start is to get the right guitar and gear from the EVH range.
How Do You Get the EVH Sound?
The "Brown Sound" is the guitar tone on Van Halen's first three albums (Van Halen, Van Halen II, and Fair Warning). It was created with a unique blend of modified guitars, a unique pedalboard, and valve amp distortion.
Even after all these years, no one can tell how Eddie worked with his pedals! He must have converted an ancient Tone Bender into a signal splitter with one input and three outputs. Apart from the leading tool - Eddie's guitar - there are photos of the main ingredients of the "Brown Sound": MXR Flanger, MXR Phaser, Echoplex Tape Echo and Marshall amplification.
What Is the Best Eddie Van Halen Guitar?
Van Halen had one guitar for many fans: the red one with the white and black stripes known as Frankenstrat because he made it by glueing pieces together from various guitars. However, during his Van Halen career, Eddie painted that signature pattern on several guitars, including those he created, hand-built, rewired, re-engineered, and damaged with saws.
All built for speed and playability, you can shred on the brown sound only by choosing your guitar from the EVH range from a specialised guitar store. Here are some of the best guitars with the signature of the great Eddie Van Halen.
EVH Striped Series 5150
Eddie used to manufacture his guitars by himself at the start: cheap Strat clones with new necks and humbuckers. The finished instrument was his "Frankenstein" guitar or "Frankenstrat". It was the final and most crucial component of his "Brown Sound." If you want the actual Brown Sound, you'll need this Frankie Strat, also known as the EVH Striped Series Frankie Electric Guitar.
If you want to sound like Eddie Van Halen, this is the guitar for you. Precisely designed to replicate every aspect of Eddie Van Halen's original Frankenstrat, the EVH Striped Series Frankie Electric Guitar is down to the bespoke paint job and dummy neck pickup. Regarding its price, it's not going to break the bank, but the tones you can get out of it might blow some people's minds!
EVH Wolfgang Standard
The Wolfgang Standard has the same tone and massive sound as Eddie Van Halen, but at a price the average guitarist can afford. This edition bears the perfect signature of EVH on the overall design aesthetics, and you can be confident that it possesses the EVH design approach and that you will enjoy the best experience in terms of appearance, aesthetic qualities, and overall vibes that you will get from this guitar with a single glance.
This guitar shares many similarities with its more expensive counterparts, such as a distinct body with a distinctive comfort cut form for optimal playing ease, an appealing masked-off body's natural binding, and a stunning patchwork maple cover.
For smooth performance and speed, the Wolfgang WG Standard boasts a glossy, slick surface on the back of the neck and a compounded curved baked maple fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets, sliding edges, and black dot patterns.
Overall, the Wolfgang Standard is the best guitar EVH choice if you want to enjoy a simple design, superior results, and adequate durability to assist you throughout the day. The baked maple neck and fingerboard, richer colour and exceptional grain structure provide better stability, crystal clear, dazzling tones, and striking elegance.
EVH Wolfgang Special
Designed with beautiful looks, enormous sound, and intense gameplay in mind, the Wolfgang Special is a thoroughbred musical instrument that has been road-tested in places worldwide. It’s among the finest pieces of equipment with various enhancements over the Wolfgang Standard; the Special edition makes it a good buy if you want to gain the necessary experience and develop a diverse playing style with your instrument.
The Wolfgang Special has a basswood body with a curved top and a solid bolt-on headwall maple neck reinforced with graphite. Aside from that, they come with a plethora of other features that are undeniably excellent. The Wolfgang Special features a volume control with a treble bleed circuit. It also has a tone adjustment feature with a high friction pot and additional pickups that switch, such as a 3-position toggle with a bridge pickup position and a bridge and neck pickup.
EVH '79 Bumblebee, Signed by EVH
The EVH '79 Bumblebee is an exact recreation of Eddie Van Halen's legendary Strat-type electric guitar, complete with the iconic black and yellow stripes that appeared on the cover of Van Halen II in 1979. Eddie Van Halen himself has also autographed it!
It is, nevertheless, one of the most costly guitars we have seen. But it's worth it if you're a Van Halen fan because it catches the exact sound you're searching for. Eddie Van Halen has hand-signed a total of 50 items around the globe.
